Mr. Speaker, the question of my colleague from Essex is an excellent one. One of the commitments of the government during the campaign was that it would renegotiate a health accord with the provinces, which the previous government failed to do. It just implemented an end to the 6% escalator for transfers to the provinces on health, a transfer the provinces need, especially at a time when health care costs are increasing.
This measure by the Conservatives had a major impact on the fiscal capacity of provinces to deliver those services as well as other services. The parliamentary budget officer recognized that the federal government was giving itself a large margin for its own long-term sustainability that was impeding and threatening the fiscal sustainability of the provinces. That is a major problem, and I have not even talked about the delivery of services.
How can this budget be silent on the reduction of the escalator, which will be applied next year, and not say anything about the situation that will make the provincial finances very uncertain and will also threaten to diminish and decrease the quality of the health care services that Canadians have paid for and that they have the right to expect?